Shanti (peace or calm) is an oft-repeated word in Hindu texts. The reference is not to world peace, but to the spiritual peace that is understood to accrue to an individual with MEDITATION and even more so with higher realization. Many MANTRAS in SANSKRIT end with the chant om shantih shantih shantih, or “OM, peace, peace, peace.”
Further reading: Puran Bair, Living from the Heart: Heart Rhythm Meditation for Energy, Clarity, Peace, Joy, and Inner Power (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998); Clint Willis, ed., Why Meditate? (New York: Marlowe, 2001).
Encyclopedia of Hinduism. A. Jones and James D. Ryan. 2007.